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Charles Sweeney, aka busboy, has stepped down to spend more time with his family. Honest! He said so!

His service as a host will be missed tremendously, as will his behind-the-scenes work on the reorgs and other projects.

You can thank him for his service in this topic. Here's my two cents.

Charles and I disagreed repeatedly, with good humor and no regrets throughout his time as a host. I can't ask for more than blunt honesty in a person, and Charles has that in spades. (Hard to figure, given he lives in DC, but no matter....)

I learned a lot from his gregarious approach to food and drink, and one of my favorite eG Forums posts of all time is his his paean to washing dishes. He's a one-off, Mr. Sweeney, and we all benefited from his tenure.

I very much enjoyed hosting alongside busboy, especially in the Restaurant Life Forum. One of the highlights of my many wonderful interpersonal experiences drawn from eGullet was the time my wife and I had lunch with Charles and his lovely wife at Vidalia in D.C. Both are completely charming.

Charles, I hope to continue to see you around here and over meals in your new, civilian capacity!

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

I learned a lot from his gregarious approach to food and drink, and one of my favorite eG Forums posts of all time is his his paean to washing dishes. He's a one-off, Mr. Sweeney, and we all benefited from his tenure.

Charles, you are Mr. Gregarious. Have fun with your family.

And if you're ever in Chicago, we can ferry dishes together. Bonne chance.

Thank you for all the bright, interesting things you’ve done and posted and said during the time I’ve been associated with eGullet. I still think of you in the after-party mullings and setting-to-rights of the house, the kitchen, the musings and the memories, the careful little jottings into the book of the tastes and the conversation, and yes---you’ve outed me—the CLEANUP.

I liked the rituals and the patterns even before your evocative words turned it into a seductive art, and now the steam of the dishpan---the scent of Apple Dawn . . .

Thank you, our kind, funny, smart wordsmith friend, for all of it.

Edited by racheld, 08 October 2008 - 10:25 AM.

Fairy tea has its own magic, for it never does run out;And the flavour you imagine will come streaming from the spout.Fairy Tea

It was a wonderful experience, both in the people I met and the things I learned. I hope that just because I'm not a power broker any more people like Doc and Rob and Rich won't stop coming around when they're in DC.

I leave with a tremendous respect for all of the hosts and managers who have put passion, creativity and an immense amount of time into making this site the best food site on the web. I look forward to continuing to contribute to it and to being a part of the community we have here.

Interestingly, my new "free time" endeavor is also food-related, though on a less exalted level: as a leader-apparent of the Elizabeth Seton High School Rowing Team Boosters, I will be managing a snack bar during University of Maryland football and basketball games, with a crew of teenage girls as my FOH and gang of parents "on the line" in back. My first goal -- teaching them how to fry the frites twice, just like the bistros do.

I hope that Charles can occasionally tear himself away from the bosom of his family to compose his typically witty and erudite posts. Also, props to Busboy (and Mrs. Busboy) for graciously hosting What makes a perfect crabcake? (click), a delicious and delightful evening. My favorite line from his write-up:

Note: if one of the crab cakes collapses like an Italian governing coalition, let the pieces fry until crisp, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and eat them yourself without telling anyone.